Wrestling headgear



"A -u 4, 1967 L. HELM WRESTLING HEADGEAR Filed Jan. 19, 1965 INVENTOR LEE HELM I q/WM W ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,311,921 WRESTLING HEADGEAR Lee Helm, 21 E. Cheyenne Road,

I Colorado Springs, Colo. 80906 Filed Jan. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 426,557 1 Claim. (til. 2--3) The present invention relates to new and novel wrestling headgear and more particularly to headgear worn by wrestlers to protect their ears from damage.

The present invention is directed to an improvement over the wrestling headgear illustrated in US. Patent No. 2,886,818. This type of headgear includes ear covering guards that completely cover the ears of the wearer, and a plurality of retaining and positioning bands are provided to hold the ear covering guards in place without discomfort to the wearer.

In the aforementioned patent, the ear covering guards comprise flexible plastic members including a main part of generally concavo-convex configuration which overlies and is spaced from the ear of the wearer. This main part of the ear covering guard is provided with four spaced apertures to prevent forming of a dead air space within the main part of the ear guards and to permit sound to reach the ears covered by the guards.

It has been found in actual use of this type of ear covering guard, that in sufiicient ventilation and sound transmission is provided to the ear of the wearer, and the equilibrium of the wearer is adversely affected with this particular arrangement.

The present invention contemplates the addition of a further hole in the main part of the ear covering guard, wherein this additional hole is centrally located between the plurality of holes previously provided, and further wherein this enlarged hole is of generally oval configuration. The enlarged hole is of such dimension that it might be possible for a fellow wrestler to insert a portion of a finger through the enlarged hole, and accordingly, the main part of the ear covering guard includes integral cross members which respectively lie along the long and short axes of the oval hole and which serve as a protective gridwork to prevent the insertion of a finger or the like through this enlarged hole.

A particularly significant feature of the specific location of the enlarged hole is the fact that when in operative position, the headgear is disposed such that the enlarged hole in each ear covering guard is disposed directly in overlying relationship to the entrance of the auditory canal of the associated ear. With this arrangement, air is allowed to circulate directly into the ear, providing better sound transmission and better ventilation. Additionally, this improved air transmission directly into the entrance of the auditory canal serves to improve the equilibrium of the wearer.

An object of the present invention is to provide new and improved Wrestling headgear which enhances the ventilation of the ears of the wearer which are covered by the headgear.

Another object of the invention is the provision of wrestling headgear which provides better hearing for the wearer.

Still another object of the invention is to provide wrestling headgear which improves the equilibrium of the wearer.

' Yet a further object of the invention is to provide new and improved wrestling headgear wherein the above objects are accomplished in a most simple and effective manner and wherein the structure is inexpensive to manufacture and yet which is sturdy and reliable in use.

Other objects and many attendant advantages of the invention will become more apparent when considered in Patented Apr. 4, 1967 connection with the specification and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation illustrating the wrestling headgear in position on a wearers head;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the central main part of the ear covering guard showing the disposition of the holes therein;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the inner part of one of the ear covering guards with a portion removed for the sake of illustration.

It should be understood that the construction of the present invention is identical in all respects with that shown in US. Patent No. 2,886,818 with the exception of the provision of the additional central hole provided in the main part of the ear covering guards, and accordingly, the disclosure of the patent will assist in an understanding of the structure of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the headgear of the present invention is indicated generally by reference numeral it) and includes a pair of complementary ear guards only one of which is visible in the drawings and which is indicated generally by reference numeral 12, it being understood that the ear guards at opposite sides of the apparatus are of the same construction and differ only from one another in that they are adapted to cover the opposite ears of the wearer.

Each ear guard includes a main body portion 14 of generally concave-convex configuration which an angularly arranged marginal peripheral flange 16 extends outwardly therefrom. The marginal flange portion 16 is shaped such that the inner face 18 thereof is of a shape similar to the portions of the head which it is adapted to engage adjacent the ear of the wearer, the forward portion of the flange being curved outwardly as indicated at 20 to be positioned over the cheekbone of the wearer. The main body portion 14 and peripheral flange portion 16 of the ear covering guard is preferably formed of a flexible material such as plastic which may comprise polyethylene and the like so that the flange and body portion have sufficient flexibility to accommodate to small variations in the shape of the face and head ofthe wearer, and yet such that the main body portion 14 will have suificient stiffness to prevent it from collapsing and engaging the ear of the wearer.

The marginal flange portions 16 of the ear covering guards have pads indicated generally by reference numeral 22 applied thereto, such pads appearing in FIGS. 1 and 3 and having been removed in FIG. 4 for the sake of illustration. Pads 22 are of generally U-shaped cross section and extend around an ear covering guard to completely enclose the edges of the flanges 16. The inner portion 24 of the pad is formed of a suit-able soft material such as soft rubber whereby the inner face of the inner portion contacts the face of the wearer and tends to adhere to the skin to aid in holding the ear guard in place. The outer portion 26 of the pad is preferably of semihard or vulcanized rubber for increasing wearing ability and abrasion resistance. The pad is secured to the flange portion 16 by means of rivets 38 which extend through the marginal flange portions and the outer part of the pad whereby the inner part of the pad covers the inner ends of the securing devices or rivets to protect the wearer from injury therefrom.

The network of bands connected with the ear covering guard includes a transverse forehead band 30, a transverse crown band 32 and a transverse back band 34. Each of these bands has the opposite ends thereof attached to the marginal flange portions of the ear guards, preferably by means of the fastening devices or rivets 38, whereby the forehead band extends across the forehead of the wearer and the crown band extends over the wearers head, and the back or nape band extends across the lower portion of the back of the head or nape of the neck of the wearer. These bands are held in proper spaced relationship with respect to one another and prevent it from slipping or working downwardly by a fore and aft band having one end attached to the forehead band by a rivet or the like 42. Band 40 is secured at an intermediate portion thereof by a rivet or the like 44 to the crown band and to the back band by a rivet or the like 46. The lower rear end of the fore and aft band 40 extends downwardly from the back band 34 and is turned inwardly and upwardly and secured to itself by a fastening device to provide a loop 52 in the lower rear end of the band. It is preferable that the rivets be of the hollow shank type with the ends of the shank peened or rolled over a washer so as to provide relatively smooth edges to reduce the possibility of injury.

To prevent the guards from working upwardly or rearwardly, bands are arranged to engage the chin of the wearer and they include a chin band extending below the chin of the wearer and a chin stay band 62 which engages the forward portion of the chin. The chin stay band 62 has the ends thereof fastened to the lower portion of the ear guards, and the chin band 60 has its end portions fastened to the ear guards forwardly and upwardly from the ends of the chin stay band whereby the bands cross on each side of the face of the wearer. The crossing points of the chin band and chin stay band are suitably secured together by a fastening device 64 such as a rivet or the like.

It is preferable that one end of the chin stay band and chin band each be secured to an ear guard by suitable fastening devices such as rivets, while the opposite ends of these bands are removably secured to the opposite rear guard as by separable snaps indicated by reference numerals 66.

Each of the bands is preferably of elastic material with limited stretch so that the bands may be slightly elongated to place the headgear in place, but having insutficient stretch to permit the headgear from being pulled off accidentally.

An adjustable nape band is indicated by reference numeral 54 and traverses the nape of the neck below the back band 34. The opposite ends of nape band 54 are attached to the marginal flange portions of the ear guards, the intermediate portion of this adjustable band extending through the loop 52. Suitable means is provided for adjusting the length of band 30 such as illustrated in the aforementioned patent.

With the headgear and ear guards in the operative position shown, the ears of the wearer will be protected and the pads will cushion any blows delivered against the body portion 14 of the ear guards. The various network of bands serves to retain the ear guards in place and the pressure of the various bands may be adjusted to eliminate discomfort to the wearer.

The main substantially concavo-convex portion 14 of each ear guard is provided with a first plurality of holes which are shown as being four in number and which are substantially uniform size and which are further disposed substantially cquidistantly from adjacent holes. These holes in the actual construction may be approximately inch in diameter.

An enlarged hole 72 is provided, this hole being substantially oval in configuration and in actual practice may have a long dimension of approximately /2 inch and a short dimension extending perpendicularly to the long dimension of approximately of an inch. This enlarged hole is disposed centrally between the four holes 70.

It will be noted that a pair of cross members 74 and 76 intersect one another at the central portion of the enlarged hole 72, cross members 74 and 76 being formed integral with the surrounding parts of the main body portion 14, and serving as a protective gridwork which prevents the insertion of a finger or the like through this enlarged hole.

As seen particularly in FIG. 1, the ear guard is illustrated in operative position relative to the head of a wearer, and the phantom line 80 indicates the position of the ear of the wearer relative to the ear guard. The interrelation is such that when the apparatus is properly positioned, the enlarged hole 72 will be positioned directly in overlying relationship to the entrance to the auditory canal of the ear of the wearer. This particular orientation of the enlarged hole with respect to the entrance of the auditory canal is such as to provide the improved results discussed hereinbefore.

It is apparent from the foregoing that there is provided according to the present invention new and novel Wrestling headgear which enhances the ventilation of the ears of the wearer, which provides better hearing and further which improves the equilibrium of the wearer. The improved results are obtained in a most simple and effective manner, and the apparatus can be manufactured in an economical manner and the apparatus is quite sturdy and effective in use.

As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, and since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claim, all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claim or that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents are therefore intended to be embraced by the claim.

I claim:

Wrestling headgear comprising an ear covering guard formed of flexible material and including a main part and a' marginal flange portion integral therewith, a network of positioning and retaining bands secured to the marginal portion of said guard, said network of bands being adapted to traverse the head of a wearer to hold the guard in place over the ear of the wearer, said main part of the guard being of generally concave-convex configuration and having a first plurality of substantially uniform size holes formed therein, said main part also having formed therein an enlarged hole of generally oval configuration and centrally located within said first plurality of holes, said enlarged hole being guarded by a single pair of integral members crossing one another at right angles and at their mid point, and dividing said enlarged hole into four openings of right angular sector shape, said members also being integral with said main part, said enlarged hole in operative position being disposed over the entrance to the auditory canal of the wearer to enhance ventilation of the ear of the wearer, to' provide better hearing to the wearer and to improve the equilibrium of the wearer.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,492,577 5/1924 Obermeyer 2-472 x 1,833,708 11/1931 Ford 2-3 2,886,818 5/1959 Roberts 23 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

J. R. BOLER, Assistant Examiner. 

